When students come to the University to study, they are expecting to receive an education that will prepare them for their professional careers and enrich their lives. To help with this enrichment effort, the University has set up several requirements aimed at teaching different cultures, including languages, to produce well-rounded students. Unfortunately, the school’s language requirement is merely a nuisance for many bachelor of arts students. The requirement is nothing more than a bother — language programs might teach fundamentals, but they don’t teach practical application in the workplace.
Language enrichment is counterproductive when students take language courses because they have to and not because they want to. The requirement is not essential for many majors and impedes the graduation process. Although students have a choice of pursuing a bachelor of arts versus a bachelor of science degree, many who seek the former are frustrated because the language requirement is not personally useful for their careers. Many won’t even remember what was taught after graduation.
Perhaps the University should create more useful curricula for students who will need language experience for their majors, such as Japanese for business majors or Spanish for journalism students. This option would be more practical for students and it would help them prepare for their careers, which is a goal of the University. Being bilingual is an asset in today’s society, but it is not imperative, and many students have no practical use for learning another language.
The Yamada Language Center is a great resource for students and could be used in conjunction with the new, focused, curricula. The center is more useful than standard language classes because it has current international political and social information, and offers a plethora of reading materials — both business and leisure. The YLC is a more practical resource for students seeking to incorporate language study into their major.
If the University wants bachelor of arts students to learn foreign languages, it should work on expanding its study abroad programs. Most language teachers would agree that immersion in the language and culture is the best way for students to learn, and more majors should be incorporated in the overseas curricula.
The bottom line is the language requirement is important, but only to those who plan on using it. Students who do not wish to study languages are free to pursue a bachelor of science. However, those students that are required to fulfill the language prerequisite should be given the option of doing so in accordance with their major.